"No one knows what to do with detainees with mental disabilities, so every part of the immigration system has abdicated responsibility," said
Sarah Mehta, the report's lead author. "The result is people languishing in detention for years while their legal files — and their lives — are
transferred around or put on indefinite hold."
...
"Someone who doesn't know their own name or what country they're from is going through some of the most complicated legal proceedings in the United
States with no right to assistance, even when everyone in the courtroom knows they need it," Mehta said.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

This is incredible and absolutely maddening. As much as I'm against illegal immigration and for deportation of such aliens, I also believe that there
should be no excuse for this what-so-ever, the deportation of mentally disabled US citizens. We should be looking out for our mentally disabled, not
just trying to get rid of them or pawning them off on someone else.

Could you imagine a mentally disabled person all of the sudden being deported to a foreign country?

Alberto B. was one-and-a-half years old when his family moved to the United States from Portugal in 1967. He became a legal permanent resident, or
“green card” holder, and grew up in Massachusetts with his parents and siblings, some of whom became US citizens. Alberto has been diagnosed with
bipolar disorder, a mental impairment that causes severe
shifts in mood, energy, and ability to function. In a letter to Human Rights Watch, Alberto wrote: “I’ve been on psych meds since 2004, my guess.
I finally turned myself in for help, FORGET MY PRIDE, I [knew] I had a problem. SINCE A very, very, young age…”1 In 2008, Alberto spent 50 days in
an in-patient psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts and
was homeless after his release. Alberto claims that he lost his medication later that year, and was arrested for theft and trespassing a few days
later.
Alberto’s criminal defense lawyer did not raise his client’s mental competence in court. Alberto agreed to a plea bargain, was released, and
hopeful that a new attorney hired by his
family would be able to vacate the criminal charges against him. But in February 2009, immigration officers arrested Alberto for deportation because
of his outstanding criminal convictions, and sent him to the Port Isabel Detention Center in Harlingen,south Texas.
Alberto had been held for approximately 11 months when a Human Rights Watch researcher met him. In a letter to us, he wrote:
[F]riends tell me just make a plea bargain with D.A. and get out of it. I didn’t know IT would add up to all of these [things]…being taking to
Immigration Holding and brought all the way from mass to texas when I need my family’s moral support. Me needing my family moral support.2

In 2000, Sharon McKnight, a US citizen with cognitive disabilities, was arrested by immigration authorities returning to New York after visiting
her family in Jamaica and deported through expedited removal procedures when immigration authorities suspected her passport was fraudulent.9
• In May 2007, Pedro Guzman, a 29-year-old US citizen with developmental disabilities, was apprehended by ICE at a county jail in California where
he was serving a sentence for trespassing. He was deported to Mexico, where he was lost for almost three months before he was located and returned to
his family in California.10
• In December 2008, US citizen Mark Lyttle, diagnosed with bipolar disorder and developmental disabilities, was deported to Mexico (and from there
to Honduras and then Guatemala). It took four months for Lyttle to return to the US; ICE officials maintain that Lyttle signed a statement indicating
he was a Mexican national.11
Human Rights Watch interviewed three individuals with then-unverified claims to US citizenship. Two men, Michael A. and Steve S., both claimed to be
US citizens, and the government’s proof of alienage against each of them was uncertain and inconsistent.12 A third interviewee may have a valid
claim for US citizenship according to his attorneys.13

Name:In Loving Memory of Sarah MehtaCategory:Common Interest - FamiliesDescription:Sarah Mehta passed away on May 13, 2008.
This is just a group for her and ourselves, just to get everything out into the open, share your thoughts, feelings, and memories.
Privacy Type:Open: All content is public..

Here is how I look at it: Why wouldn't it happen? It happens with just about everything else, I would be particularly surprised if this didn't
happen. Think about it for a second, we have jails, hospitals, charities and every other institution that deals with these people on a regular basis,
who are always trying to pawn these mentally disabled people off on someone else. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to think that they are
deporting them too.

Lets say "retarded joe" has broken the law, something like vandalism. Ij "retarded joe" doesn't speak english or can't speak properly and then
says something stupid, as they tend to do often, like they live in Russia, Mexico, Canada, etc...

Lets say that didn't even say something stupid but still can't speak intelligibly, authorities are going to be brainstorming on what to do with this
guy, especially if it's a small town/county. If no beds are open in the hospital or the process isn't moving fast enough, it would be so much easier
to just claim they are illegal and have "bubba" the immigration judge deport them.

Jeez, that is just horrible!!!!!!! I too am against illegal immigration and all, but there is no excuse for this kind of treatment for our mentally
ill citizens. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

I agree, there is no evidence here of any of these people being U.S. citizens.

The article says,

The report, "Deportation by Default," documents cases of non-citizens who could not understand questions, were delusional, couldn't tell
the date or time, and didn't understand the concept of deportation — for example, saying they wanted to be deported to New York.

What the Government needs to do is work with countries of suspected origin and find these peoples families and then deport them back into their
families custody. There is no need to waste time, these peoples lives and tax payers dollars to keep them in detention. That is absurd.

The important thing is that there is no evidence of them not being US citizens. A mentally disabled person could easily say they want to be deported
to New York because for one, they may not understand the difference between the states and foreign countries. For example, if a mentall handicapped is
from New York but is found in Los Angeles and authorities are asking him if he is a "citizen here", he may just say, "no, deport me back to New
York".

Also, if there is one thing I have learned about human nature as of late, especially in government jobs, is that people try to find the easiest
solution that will take the least amount of time. They are looking to clear cases from their desks and deporting a retarded person is much easier, and
I'm sure quicker, than trying to solve a mystery.

Very rarely do people take on more work or a more complex issue without incentive to do so.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.